


Power and Those Who Seek It.

by The_Marron



Series: Ambition [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-22
Updated: 2013-09-22
Packaged: 2017-12-27 07:33:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/976139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Marron/pseuds/The_Marron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Compatibile with what was published at Pottermore.</p><p>The world is divided between powerful and those, who are too weak to seek it. quirinus Quirrell wasn't weak.</p><p>First of the series concerned with Quirrell's servitude to Lord Voldemort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Power and Those Who Seek It.

There are few people who can understand ambition so great that it is burning its bearer.  
Ambition, that cannot be fulfilled because its vessel is faulty.  
Because its host is too weak to show everyone that he exists.  
Quirinus Quirrell had great ambitions. He was powerful, he was educated, he could do marvellous things with magic. He knew it. But no one else noticed. Just because he was shy, he was ultimately shunned out and went unnoticed and underappreciated not only by his peers, but by teachers as well. What good did it do to him that he could produce non-verbal spells in his fifth year, when Charlie Weasley, who couldn't transfigure his cup into a mouse, won another Quidditch trophy? And who would suspect, that this skinny, timid boy can be great? No one, since the only thing Quirinus got from his classmates was teasing at best, because most often he was just ignored. Just because he liked flowers and wasn't into sports he was perceived as something less, someone who is not worth positive attention. Even professor Flitwick overlooked Quirinus' successes and was more absorbed with Nymphadora Tonks' metamorphomagic tricks.  
Now, when he looked back at his life, he couldn't say it was surprising, that he took an interest in Dark Arts. Of course, at first it was Defense Against Dark Arts, but it turned out that while he was very good with theory, his practical abilities were lacking. He graduated from Hogwarts with NEWTS score good enough to work in the Ministry, but no one asked him to join them to butterbeer after the ceremony, no one said 'I'll miss you' or 'I think you'll have a great career'. At that time, Qurinius decided he has had enough of being invisible. He was a great wizard and he could become someone powerful, he knew it, he was from Ravenclaw! So instead of applying for a job, he decided to go on a traditional journey around the world, just like his mother told him every graduate should do.  
It was the first time that he found himself at ease. No one taunted him when he looked with awe at muggle gardens, when he talked he didn't have to worry that he will be jammed by his loud colleagues.

He was happy. Travelling and seeing different places gave him peace. And maybe he would come back and join people in Ministry in their mundane work. But the fate had different plans for him. While he was in Europe, he heard a snippet of a conversation. He didn't remember who was having this conversation and why he decided to listen to it, but he remembered the information - something sinister was hiding in the forest in Albany, something that summoned snakes to its side.

  
Quirinus wasn't ignorant of the rumour that the Dark Lord could survive his defeat by the hands of Harry Potter, but for the first time he started to believe it. Everyone knew, that the Dark Lord was powerful, he was respected and feared by everyone.  
This simple conversation stirred something inside of him, something that was laying low in his soul since he started travelling - his desire to be noticed. He became obsessed with the idea of finding Dark Lord and learning from him, of finally becoming someone if not loved, then dreaded. He could see himself in his imagination, as he possesses the knowledge of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, as he ultimately destroys him, or joins him and is finally seen.  
Once this mad idea entered his mind, he couldn't get rid of it. Even though he got a letter from Dumbledore, in which the Headmaster asked him to join staff as a professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, for which he gave affirmative reply, he still continued his journey, but every place he visited was closer and closer to Albanian boundaries. His mind was made up.

He deserved this power, he was ready. He went unnoticed for far too long.  
After few weeks of wandering around the country, he almost lost his resolve. Time was flowing and he hadn't seen any sign of Dark Lord's presence. Just before he decided to turn back, he saw it. The snake was small, but it was definitely crawling with a purpose, seeing as it ignored Quirinus and passed him without a second glance. That was curious, so he decided to follow the creature, mindful of the fact, that according to his research and his assumptions, the Dark Lord could speak in parseltongue. He went into the woods with heart hammering inside his chest. Not for the first time he wondered if this was a good idea, if he could survive the meeting with the most dangerous wizard of all times. How did he survive? How does he look like? Will he give Quirinus what he desired?  
Only fools don't feel fear, but he was Quirinus Quirrell, he could defeat Mountain Troll without breaking a sweat! What danger can a wizard, or rather what's left of him, pose to him?

The snake stopped. They reached some kind of cave. He could hear the hissing coming from it, but he couldn't understand it. Either it was a real snake, or someone was speaking to Quirinus' unassuming guide.

Someone who could speak to snakes...  
Before he could react, the snake before him shivered and seconds later it turned to him and rose as high as it could. Driven by curiosity, he kneeled in front of a creature.

_What are you doing here?_

He heard inside his head. The tone of a question was politely curious.

"I came here to find you", He answered truthfully, looking into snake's eyes. The animal, or rather the spirit who possessed it crawled near him.

  
_I see now. It's all inside your mind... You want greatness. But you're weak. So weak._

  
The voice was still polite, but he could hear the dangerous undertones.

  
"I want your knowledge. I want your power", He answered, his voice steady and sure. He could do it, he could convince this creature to help him. He knew he deserved it.

 

_Understandable. With such abilities you would've made a great asset and a great follower in my times of reign._

 

The voice was pleasant, appealing.

  
_If I were to return, I would choose you to follow me. So much potential for power..._

  
For a moment, he had a feeling that he is being manipulated, that maybe this is all just a flattery that is used to convince him to do... He didn't know what, not yet. But the vision of Dark Lord's return... If he did return, with Quirinus in his tow, as his second best, as his greatest follower... Who would dare not to respect him then?

He would be feared by everyone. Not only by the whole wizard population, but by Dark Lord's followers as well. He would get what is rightfully his - the glory, the esteem that is connected with being the best.  
He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named probably saw what was going on in Quirinus' mind, since he heard Dark Lord's voice:

  
_I can give you everything you wanted... If you give me my body back, I can teach you. I can rise you from this mundane existence to glory you know you deserve... Just give me your body and energy and you shall be the part of the world I will create. Just think about everyone who discarded you as not worthy their attention, fools, all of them! And you will show them, show them how wrong they were!_

  
"How?", He asked, amazed with the vision created by his new Master.

  
_You took the position of a teacher at Hogwarts... It pleases me. It will help our plans. But first, I need to get my body back. You'll return with me to London and give me the stone that is hidden inside one of Gringott's vaults. After that, it will be the time to get rid of Harry Potter. And then, your ambition will come true._

  
"Yes, Master", He found himself saying, without second thought, as if the decision was made for him. He could break into Gringott's, if someone could avoid the security it would be him, after all he is Quirinus Quirrell of Ravenclaw, the smartest student of his house!

  
_Very well. But are you strong enough to take me there? Are you clever enough?_

  
"I can do anything, anything you ask me to", He said, eager as only 18 years old boys can be. He was ready, he knew he was!

  
_Give me your body._

  
Then his senses came back - his Master asked him to become his vessel, to be like that snake in which no free will was to be found. He always wondered about human souls, but what could happen if you were to take two of them inside your body?  
Quirinus was thorn - one part of his mind was screaming to get away from the creature and inform anyone, Dumbledore for example of its whereabouts, the other was calling him a fool and a weakling who can only dream but cannot do anything, just like everyone said, he was made to be overlooked! But the first voice died quickly. What could He do? It was just a soul, what a ghost of a fallen wizard could do to him, to young and adept in magic professor? He wouldn't lose the battle over his body with a shadow of the man!

  
_Am I asking for too much? Have I been mistaken when I claimed you are worthy of being in my world?_

  
The voice was sounding angry, impatient. Quirinus moved his hand in snake's direction. The reptile wrapped itself around his arm. Before he could do anything, he felt two fangs breaking his skin and seconds later... Pain. Overwhelming pain, so strong and blinding that he lost his vision and every part of his body and mind was screaming in agony.  
And then he woke up. He was laying on a grass. He stood up and noticed that the snake that bit him was dead.

The thought, that any body that was possessed is destroyed by possessor and dies before its time crosses his mind, but before he can analyze it further, the voice inside his head, the voice that belongs to his Master distracts him.

  
_Get us to London, Quirrell._

  
Quirinus isn't stupid enough to ask how his Master know his name. Legilimency is nothing new to him, especially as he was to teach at Hogwart's how to protect one's self against it. Again, he has a passing thought, that it is dangerous, to share yourself with a being that can read your mind and whom you can never lie to. But as quickly as it appears, it is erased from his mind.

  
_Go._

  
"Yes, My Lord"


End file.
